Things to do with 12,000 Volts #2 – CD eraser

Believe it or not I was actually trying to do something constructive with all those pesky MSDN subscription CDs I have lying around the place…

Lichtenberg figures are “trapped lightning” fractal patterns created using a very large DC accelerator. I was hoping to produce something similar in the CD – however too much current (30ma) and too much heat soon melted the platter rendering the figures “unviewable”.

I’m going to introduce a ballast in the circuit to limit the current and see how I get on.

Who is this guy?

Steve Hobley works for a software company, but in his spare time likes to deconstruct all the lovely consumer goods with a goal to make unique and interesting things.

A few years ago he posted a short clip of the laser harp he developed, solely to show friends back in the UK.

Automagically that one clip got picked up by Gizmodo, Engadget and a bunch of other tech journals. The end result (apart from a ton of views on Youtube) was to get hired as a consultant for Little Boots – creating a laser harp for her 2010 US tour.